PadawanOfHappiness

On my previous blog I had tracked some laundry hacks, honestly, laundry isn't that hard but for some reason, I just cannot stand doing it. Today's hack (really it started yesterday) is one that should work for people that work from home fairly easily.  If you work outside the home you might be able to tweak this one to work for you. When both Mr.Padawan and I worked outside the home laundry was a weekend thing and that took up a lot of time because it is not like we felt comfortable tossing a load in and then leaving for the day.  So when I went back to school full time and even now that I work from home it is much easier to deal with because I can do it during the workday. This is my morning set up: Sort the clothes Take them to the basement (where my laundry room is) and dump in a load and fill the detergent and softener bins.  But I don't actually start the machine because I am about to take the kids to school. Drop off kids Come home, and when I wal...

March is the week that we focus on Work in the Happiness Project. I need to expand my business to make money, not huge money mind you but enough to supplement the family income so that I feel financially secure. What I need to do is move out of my comfort zone which means growth. William Butler Yeats, "Happiness, is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth.  We are happy when we are growing." I need to grow and personal and professional growth is combined really when you think about out, our lives are not siloed, they are not insular no matter how much we like to try to compartmentalize.  The whole idea of starting a business is crazy and there are so many ideas and things that need to be done but I am going follow the advice that an advisor to Gretchen gave her. "...keep it simple - you can add features later, as you figure out what you're doing." (pg 72 kindle location 1484) With that thought in mind, I am creating a lis...

Many people if not all people want to have financial security but I would venture to guess that not everyone knows what it is.  Additionally I don't think that "Financial Security" means the same thing to everyone. I have started to read a book  The Magic of Tiny Business: You Don't Have to Go Big to Make a Great Living and it started to give me some clarity and about what "Financial Security" is for me and is giving me a lot to think about both personally and professionally which makes sense since personal and professional lives are intertwined. Even though the book is not explicitly designed to craft a mission statement or business philosophy, she certainly talks a bit about it as she defines a Tiny Business which is in terms of "focus" not on revenue, sales, or profits.  And I started to have a bunch of ideas to make some changes to my business website and inspired some topics that I can create business blog posts on. So what does this h...

Yesterday was not a great day. The day before I felt great, I was proud of what I was doing and the progress managing my stress and enjoying what I have. So why did I had very little motivation and through out the day why was my stress and anxiety growing?  That made me MAD ! At the end of the night I was realizing the why, I was feeling like classic symptoms of "I am not good enough".  Mr. Padawan was as always very supportive and I felt bad as I vented, knowing he was exhausted but as he said this is what we do we support each other and I did the same for  him when he walked in the door.  Not only did he listen he helped with suggestions and reminded me of the good things I do and how great I am.  His advice: Make list, check things off.  You love checking things off the list. That made me laugh and I needed that and he even offered to go get some paper to make a list but I declined.  I was starting to settle.  So today I did not make a l...

I have been pondering how to define success so that I have a goal to work for.  The past couple of days I have been cataloging the ups and downs of family life that have been hanging around this past month: illness orthodontics surprise! someone needs glasses for the first time school vacation snow days sold out movies (ok granted this is very minor but can have a disproportionately large impact on life) Yes I have been frustrated with these things but I have managed my frustration, anxiety, and stress far better this month than I did just a few months ago.  This is good and it makes me want to cheer!  I have made progress in my happiness and being happy is a part of success in my book. The question is how did this happen?  Having a flexible schedule is likely the key to this happiness and yes a part of me being successful.  For me I think it is becoming more and more clear that for me being a "success" is a well rounded life and at different points ...